Besides acquiring well over eight hundred Del Prado pre-painted 25/28mm figures that came with their RELIVE WATERLOO! part-work, I have also managed to get hold of some that were sold as part of their RELIVE AUSTERLITZ! range. Amongst the latter were a number of French Light Infantry, and I have used them to form two further units for my French Napoleonic Army.

I still have further figure to renovate, varnish and base, and the next couple of batches will probably be figures that are destined to act as garrison troops.

Yesterday I paid a visit to CAVALIER, the annual wargames show that is held in Tonbridge, Kent. It was organised by the Tunbridge Wells Wargames Society, and took place in the Angel Centre, which is not far from the main shopping street of the town. I arrived early, and as a result finding a nearby parking space was easy. I was inside the venue by just after 9.45am, fifteen minutes before the doors opened.

The Main Sports Hall contained most of the trade stands, …

… with the smaller Medway Hall providing a venue for most of the demonstration/participation games …

… and the ‘bring and buy’ area.

The Jubilee Room was also used, and the Society of Ancients had a stand just outside the door.

One of the main reasons I go to shows like CAVALIER is to catch up with other wargame bloggers, and this show was no exception. Soon after I arrived I was able to meet and chat with (from left to right) Big Lee, Ray Rousell, Postie (of Postie’s Rejects), and David Crook.

I then spent some time looking at the various games that were taking place at the show, starting with those in the Main Sports Hall.

Firefight: Simple rules for small actions in the modern age (Part Two) by Stephen Jones

Darker Horizons

Fantasy Facts

From Cradle to Frostgrave: by John Treadaway

From the 4Ground up: Customising MDF building for SF games (Part One) by Roger Dixon

Bloody Big Borodino: How to play a big Napoleonic game by adapting the ‘Blood Big Battles’ rules by Richard Morrill

Recce

Yes Minster: The continuing tales of a wargames widow by Diane Sutherland

Club Spotlight: Crisis? What Crisis …: The Tin Soldiers of Antwerp Wargame Club by Willie Bogaerts

Club Directory

At first glance I thought that I was going to feel a little let down by this issue … but as began to read it I discovered there was a lot in it that was of interest to me. Of particular interest were:

The three scenarios in Conrad Kinch’s Send three and fourpence article that all looked eminently playable and very suitable for either re-fighting using my own MEMOIR ’44 stuff or even my own PORTABLE WARGAME rules.

Jon Sutherland’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen reminded me that although I think of myself as a Colonial wargamer, I have neglected to give serious thought to fighting Colonial battles in the Asian sub-continent … and that I ought to do something to remedy that in the not too distant future.

Roger Dixon’s From the 4Ground up article about customising MDF buildings. (I don’t own any MDF buildings as yet, but this article made me realise that I really ought to think about buying some.)

The bulk of Bloody Big Borodino by Richard Morrill might refer to a set of rules that I neither own nor have used, but the scenario notes and map will no doubt prove useful to me once I have renovated, varnished, and based my small Napoleonic Russian Army.

The magazine also included a guide to HAMMERHEAD 2017, which will be taking place on 4th March at the Newark Showground.

Whilst I will not be going to this particular show, the fact that the guide was included with but not part of this issue is something that I applaud. I really don’t like show guides that are stapled into the centre of a magazine, and I hope that this example will be followed by other shows and magazines in the future.

Unlike the Spanish and Italians seaplane carriers, the French Commandant Teste was specially designed and built as such. She was laid down at the FC Gironde shipyard in Bordeaux on 6th September 1927, launched on 12th April two years later, and entered service on 18th April 1932.

During the Spanish Civil War Commandant Teste helped to protect neutral merchant shipping, and during World War II she acted as an aviation transport between France and North Africa and in support of the French Mediterranean fleet. She was slightly damaged during the bombardment of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir on 3rd July 1940, and later made her way to Toulon, where she was scuttled on 27th November 1942 after the German invasion of Vichy France.

Commandant Teste was refloated after the war and plans were prepared for her conversion into an escort or training carrier. As there were plenty of surplus American-built escort carrier available it was decided not to proceed with the conversion, and she was used as a store ship for until she was sold for scrap on 15th May 1950.

On Wednesday I visited the Masonic Centre in Letchworth Garden City to deliver a lecture about Masonic references in the work of Rudyard Kipling. The Centre is known as ‘The Cloisters’, and the building has a unique design and interesting history.

‘The Cloisters’ was originally built built in 1906-07 as an open-air school dedicated to Psychology. It was designed by William Harrison Cowlishaw and paid for by Miss Annie Jane Lawrence (1863-1953), a Quaker. It cost £20,000 to construct, and when it was finished it had accommodation for 20 students. They were encouraged to study ‘how thought affects action and what causes and produces thought.’ Amongst other things, the curriculum included skills of the sort that were valued by the Arts and Crafts movement.

The school flourished during the period up to 1939, and became a venue for lectures, conferences, drama and musical performances, and organ recitals as well as being the centre of a small community dedicated to Theosophy. In 1939 the building was requisitioned by the British Army, and when it was handed back to Miss Lawrence in 1948 it was in desperate need of repair and restoration. Miss Lawrence could not afford to pay for the necessary work to be done, and after offering it to the local council – who turned it down – it was donated to the Masonic Province of Hertfordshire, who paid for the repairs and reopened it as the North Hertfordshire Masonic Centre. It retained the name of ‘The Cloisters’ and the Freemasons of Hertfordshire have maintained the building ever since.

I understand that this building has never been used by a film or TV company as a location. Having visited it, I find that very surprising. It is so quirky and unusual to look at, and I would have thought that it is the sort of location that would have appealed to them, especially if they were making a film or TV programme that was vaguely Gothic or fantastical in content.

The dates for Connections UK 2017 have been announced (Tuesday 5th to Thursday 7th September 2017 inclusive) and it will be taking place at King’s College, London as before.

The outline programme for the conference is as follows:

Day 1: Tuesday 5th September

Wargaming 101: A shortened theory session for newcomers and novices.

Megagame: ‘Dire Straits’ which has been designed by Jim Wallman and Rex Brynen to explore a potential crisis involving China, Taiwan, and beyond.

Informal gaming sessions during the evening: Bring a game, find a table … and play.

Day 2: Wednesday 6th September

UK military Tri-Service and FCO wargaming examples.

Update on UK military wargaming doctrine.

Seminar and Matrix Games.

Current design ideas in hobby gaming.

Games Fair session 1: Attendees sign up before the conference for sessions that they wish to take part in.

Keynote speaker: Senior military representative (To be confirmed)

Games Fair session 2: Evening session that follows on from Games Fair session 1, and which gives attendees the opportunity to attend different sessions from those they attended earlier in the day.

Day 3: Thursday 7th September

Wargaming in education.

Modelling Human Terrain.

Wargame design.

Breakout workshops: The intention is to take a topical subject and develop several nascent approaches that tackle the issue at different levels (e.g. tactical or operational) using varied wargaming techniques.

This looks like being yet another excellent conference, and I certainly hope to be able to attend.

I recently had an email from Andy Callan – one of the founder members of Wargame Developments – offering me the complete set of José María Bueno’s EL EJERCITO ESPANOL EN PARADA paper soldiers. I gratefully accepted his kind offer, and a couple of days ago the five sets of paper soldiers (all of which are printed in full colour on thick card) arrived in the post.

Set 1

Infanteria

Tiradores de Ifni-Sahara

Mehal-la Jalifiana

Bandera de F.E.T. y de las J.O.N.S.

Infanteria de Marina

Escolta mora de S.E. el Generalissimo

Policia Montada de Sevilla

Caballeria de las Milicias del Requete

Set 2

La Legion

Artilleria anticarro de La Legion

Bandera de la Falange de Marruecos

Battallon del Requete (Tercios del Sur)li>

Legion Condor

Bandera de Flechas Verdes

Escuadron de Lanceros

Tabor de Caballeria de Regulares de Melilla

Set 3

Artilleria de Montana

Artilleria de Montana, Escalon de Municionamiento

Primer Tercio del Requete Navarro

Grupo de Regulares de Melilla Numero 2

Tabor de Caballeria de la Mehal-la

Marina

Servicio de Trabajo de F.E.T. y de las J.O.N.S.

Bandera de Camisas Negras del la Division ‘XXIII de Marzo’

Set 4

Guardia Civil de Infanteria

Guardia Civil de Caballeria

Infanteria

X Bandera de la Legion

Mehal-la Jalifiana Infanteria

Bandera de Falange Espanola

Compania de ‘Bersaglieri’ Motorizados

Compania de Carros Ligeros del C.T.V.

Set 5

Batallon de Esquiadores de la Agupacion ‘Guadarram-Somosierra’

Escuadron de Lanceros de Farnesio

Seccion de ametralladoras de un escuadron de Caballeria

Batallon Expedicionario de Infanteria de Marina

Seccion de Sanidad

Grupo de Regulares de Laranche Numero 4

Bandera de la Falange de Navarra

Aviacion Legionaria Italiana

These paper soldiers are an invaluable research tool for anyone who is interested in the Spanish Civil War, and they now occupy pride of place in my collection of books and documents relating to that conflict.